| The Richmond Marathon was on Saturday. It runs right in front of our apartment. The last time I lived by a marathon route, I almost went crazy with all the spastic clapping that went on. This time, it was different. It was FUN. Tiffany and I started out having brunch at a diner down the block where we could watch the runners come by. When we came back, we set chairs on the sidewalk in front of our apartment, wrapped up in blankets, and watched the runners some more. A lot of them had their names somewhere on their shirts, or some otherwise notable physical attire (wearing all pink, for example), so sometimes we would call their names out and cheer them on. The best part was at the end of our block, though-- there is a bar there, and on the patio were a bunch of young guys drinking and cheering on the runners. They would see the name of a runner on their jersey -- if the runner's name was monosyllabic, they would sing out the beginning of "Eye of The Tiger" with their name (a la the Starbucks Doubleshot commercials). "Dan! Dan, Dan, Dan! Dan, Dan, Dan! Dan, Dan Dan...."). For disyllabic names, they'd just chant the name: "Car-rie! Car-rie! Car-rie!" or "Here we go, Michael, here we go!" The runners loved it. They enjoyed the encouragement, and some of them would yell back or wave or otherwise play along. At one point, the guys chanted at one runner to the tune of "Stars and Stripes Forever" (the part that goes 'be kind to your web-footed friend'): "Have a beer, have a beer, have a beer, (etc.)" while holding out a cup of beer. And the guy actually turned around and took the beer! There was also a runner who juggled the whole way. The guys sang the same stars-and-stripes tune, but used the words "nice balls" ... ok, I cracked up. I know. Juvenile. Collegey. I'm a sucker for inappropriate humor sometimes. Further on down the line was a guy in a big viking hat who would pick a person and run along with them for a block or so, then return to his post and repeat. Lots of (young!) people were cheering the runners on. It was a really positive atmosphere. Good stuff. |
